Sunday, June 25, 2006

Trinity College Dublin publishes science outreach update

The latest issue of Trinity Research News, a newsletter focussing on the research taking place in Trinity College Dublin has an interesting insert on science outreach activities at the university. This special edition of Science Connect and the related website brings together a whole set of reports on the many activities Trinity has been involved with.

One of the most interesting and creative activities was undertaken around Science Week 2005 by Dr Treasa Ní Mhíocháin, who was then Communications and Outreach Manager at CRANN (the new Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices at Trinity), with support from Discover Science & Engineering. The challenge for all communication activities related to Nanotechnology, and for this "Nano-Experience" activity in particular, was to make nanotechnology "tactile" and link the details of the microscopic realm to the macroscopic experiences that relate to people's lives. This was done by creatively using several commercial "nano-products" such as tennis rackets, cosmetics and even waterproof trousers, and according to Science Connect the activity was "a huge hit with students and teachers alike."